Police searching for two men who broke into elderly woman's home.

Mark White

POLICE are appealing for information after two men broke into an elderly woman’s house in Lostock Hall.

The incident happened at around 10pm last night when two men entered the 85 year old woman’s home on Brownedge Road by climbing through an upstairs window.

The offenders searched a number of rooms before going downstairs where they were disturbed by the victim. One of the men then restrained the woman while the other man searched the living room. The victim tried to ring for assistance using her house phone but the men knocked it out of her hand, causing the batteries to fall out.

The pair continued to search the room before running out of the house empty handed. They are thought to have headed towards Todd Lane South.

Both men were described as wearing balaclavas and dark clothing and were around 5ft 6in tall.

Jane Webb of Preston CID said: “This was a despicable offence committed on an elderly and vulnerable victim. It must have been extremely frightening for her to discover these men in her home and she has understandably been left distraught by what has happened. An investigation to trace these two men is already underway and house to house and CCTV enquiries are on-going.

“The property is situated on a busy main road and it is possible there will have been a lot of people in the area at the time. I would urge anyone who may have seen anybody acting suspiciously nearby or who has any information at all to contact us as soon as possible.”